After World War II, the relationship that developed primarily between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was called the Cold War. The Cold War took place in the period from 1947 to 1991. The goal of the Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises. Examples of these major crises would be the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, the Korean War, and the Berlin Wall. For many, the growth of weapons of mass destruction has been the most concerning issue. The Cold War is also said to be the conflict between the communist nations led by the Soviet Union and the democratic nations led by the United States. This war was fought with all means of propaganda, economic warfare and occasional military clashes. The end of World War II led to the beginning of the Cold War. The United States, Great Britain and Russia were allies only because of a common enemy: Germany; Russia was communist and the United States capitalist and democratic; Both the United States and Russia emerged from the war as superpowers; Europe was divided between the parts reconquered by the Russians and those reconquered by the United States and Great Britain; The Iron Curtain is a metaphor for this division. The Iron Curtain was a term used to describe the border that separated the Warsaw Pact countries from the NATO countries from around 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The Iron Curtain was both a physical and ideological divide that showed how Europe was seen after World War II. East of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to or influenced by the former Soviet Union. West of the Iron Curtain were countries that had democratic governments. After Germany's surrender in World War II, a meeting was held that included... middle of paper... Chinese, American and South Korean forces. they were pushed back to a small corner of the island, and UN forces landed to the north of the North Korean forces and launched a counterattack. During the war there was the Militarized Zone, the area between North and South Korea where soldiers from both sides were not allowed to enter. It served as a buffer between the two nations to prevent war, and the 38th parallel was the focal point for ceasefire negotiations. The Korean War ended when North Korean forces were finally pushed back to the 38th parallel, the line that was the border line before the war broke out and still serves as the border today, Truman stepped up bombing of North Korea and hinted at using nuclear weapons again, an armistice (ceasefire) was signed between the two sides, 54,000 Americans dead and over 1.5 million Koreans and Chinese.